Natalie Alleyne
Mornington,Victoria
Summary
An enthusiastic and dedicated leader with a passion for ensuring good quality social work practice within the social work Service. With experience in senior management and leadership across a number of different settings within child protection and children’s social care; a keen eye for detail and an excellent aptitude to data analysis. I have a proven track record in improving practice quality and compliance, greater outcomes for children and their families and developing relationships across partnerships.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Child Protection Practitioner
DFFH
01.2025 - Current
- Supervising two members of staff within the case management service at the DFFH
- Manage caseload of complex cases within the children’s court of Victoria
- Work effectively with families and partner agencies to deliver effective child protection services
Service Manager
Tameside children’s services
UK
04.2024 - 11.2024
- Company Overview: Leading services for children with disabilities, child protection and the children’s court service
- Responsible for budget management, service delivery within a child protection context, leading on system design and implementation of improvement planning
- Leading services for children with disabilities, child protection and the children’s court service
Service Manager
Children and Families – Bradford
10.2022 - 04.2024
- Local Authority representative for Child Practice Reviews/Serious Care Reviews
- Providing information, representing the Local Authority within the panel and contributing to the writing/completion of the finalised report
- Deputising for Head of Service such as attendance as Trust representative for strategic partnerships meetings
- Plan and participate in Ofsted readiness and improvement planning
- Implementation and delivery of the Improvement plan including participation and leading in working groups to implement changes identified within OFSTED Improvement plans
- Author of Child in Need element of the SEF in Ofsted Readiness
- Contribute to the revision and development of Trust Policy for instance working group participation in the Youth Homelessness Joint Working Protocol
- Attendance and oversight of risk and issues meetings for commissioned services to ensure strategic oversight of key performance indicators and ensure value for money/statutory compliance
- Strategic overview of Child in Need/Child Protection and Children in Care and Care Proceedings and PLO (over 400 children)
- Develop, manage and supervise the leadership of a cohort of 5 team managers
- Plan, track and oversee the throughput of service delivery for over 35 social workers
- Devise and implement safeguarding policies using children and adult based legislation and practice guidance
- Provide advice on the current policies and procedures and ensure correct systems in place to ensure permanence for children and families
- Understand and utilise employment policy to promote employee well being, ensure staff retention and encourage skill development
- Appropriately use praise and incentivise positive practice and commitment whilst being able to utilise informal and competency based improvement plans as per personal/service need
- Service delivery and planning, I have been instrumental in the planning around exiting project/commissioned social work teams
- Monitoring performance data and providing and presenting reports in respect of performance within the service
- Participation within Peer Reviews to develop practice within the service
Team Manager
Children and Families – Bradford
03.2022 - 10.2022
- Motivate, lead and supervise a team of social workers providing effective reflective social work supervision that embeds good quality social work practice
- Allocate and provide management oversight for children and family assessments, child protection and child in need planning and cases within care proceedings
- Convene and chair strategy discussions and oversee the outcome of S47 enquiries
- Giving evidence in court and representing the Local Authorities view within such care proceedings
- Improve the quality of casework through: undertaking case file audits and ensuring feedback from audit activity is implemented into social work practice; and, formal observations of practice
- Quality assurance and case file audit, identifying areas of good practice, learning and corrective actions
Independent Social Worker
Self Employed Services
03.2020 - 03.2022
- Completing parenting, risk, and sibling assessments
- Writing, compiling and quality assuring; viability, connected carer and SGO assessments
- Working within timescales allocated by the family court and in concordance with legal frame-work timescales
- Undertaking assessments of adults with mental health and substance misuse or offending behaviour
Team Manager, Duty and Assessment
Halton
11.2021 - 03.2022
- To manage an efficient and effective service to children and families in need
- To manage and ensure delivery of statutory duty and assessment function in a busy Childrens social services
- Managing the duty desk and a team dealing with short term assessment of need and working with children subject to Childrens plans
- To manage a team of Social Services staff (6 SW and 1 FSW)
- To manage the devolved budgets appropriate to the post
- To ensure the effective allocation of work and tasks to staff individually and collectively and to be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of workloads, transfer and closure of cases
- To maintain quality, standards and outcomes of caseloads
- To ensure that work is undertaken in partnership with parents, children and other service users
- To establish, develop and maintain productive working relationships, through liaison and joint work with other agencies, organisations, groups and individuals within the team’s operational remit
- To chair Child Protection Strategy and Core Group meetings
Children’s Rights and Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service Team Manager
Calderdale
03.2021 - 11.2021
- To be responsible for the allegations management process, ensuring high standards of professional practice and policy, consistent with legislation, statutory guidance and evidence-based practice across the partnership
- (LADO)
- Monitoring and implementation of the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) process for the Local Authority
- Including the management and updating of the LADO database and monitoring of referrals to the Disclosure Barring Service
- Develop and deliver training programmes
- (LADO)
- To author and present the Annual Report and implement service improvement plans
- (LADO)
- Lead, motivate and supervise manage the work of the Children’s Rights and Advocacy and Independent Visitors team, including the management of the service budgets, developing and implementing service development and improvement plans and quality assuring the efficacy of the services
- (TM)
- To undertake quality assurance case file audits of the service children and their families are receiving within child protection, child in need, children looked after and leaving care services
- (TM)
- Ensure that statutory duties and responsibilities of the Local Authority are being met
- (TM)
- Responsible for providing cover for the safeguarding and quality assurance service, including covering Fostering Independent Reviewing Officer role when necessary
Practice Manager
Calderdale
11.2017 - 03.2021
- Motivate, lead and supervise a team of social workers providing effective reflective social work supervision that embeds good quality social work practice
- Allocate and provide management oversight for children and family assessments, child protection and child in need planning and cases within care proceedings
- Convene and chair strategy discussions and oversee the outcome of S47 enquiries
- Giving evidence in court and representing the Local Authorities view within such care proceedings
- Improve the quality of casework through: undertaking case file audits and ensuring feedback from audit activity is implemented into social work practice; and, formal observations of practice
- Quality assurance and case file audit, identifying areas of good practice, learning and corrective actions
Senior Social Worker
Calderdale
06.2017 - 11.2017
- As per previous Social work roles in addition to: Act in the role of mentor and provide coaching as required to trainee and newly qualified social workers
- Edt cover as and when required
Specialist Practitioner
Calderdale
03.2015 - 06.2017
- Working with cases related to Child Exploitation, grooming offences and child sexual abuse
- Maintaining excellent understanding of relevant Act in the role of the lead professional in complex, statutory cases that require a qualified children’s social worker, particularly child protection, care proceedings and looked after children cases
- Undertake the full range of social work tasks, with children in need and their families including assessment, planning, implementation and review
- Effectively managing Child Protection and Child in Need Plans including formation and implementation of planning and chairing meetings to review plans in place
- Undertake and support others to undertake specialist CSE Risk Assessments
- Represent the Local Authority within care proceedings including writing court statements and providing evidence in court
- Build and develop positive working relationships with children and young people that promotes trust and encourages disclosure
- Work within a multi-disciplinary department, building and maintain positive working relationship with partner agencies
Social Worker
Calderdale
09.2013 - 03.2015
- Providing specialist intervention and intensive one to one direct work to young people and adults
- Undertaking S47 child protection enquiries, children and family single assessments, pre-birth, risk and parenting assessments and undertaking initial viability assessments
- Applying relevant social work theories and research in a way that helps best understand the lived experiences of children and young people, such as child development, attachment theory, impact of childhood trauma, and the cycle of grooming and sexual abuse
- To explore contingency plans that utilise the families support network as much as possible, even when exploring other caring arrangements for children
Education
BA (Hons) - Social Work
Leeds Beckett University
Practice Educator Part 1 -
University of Huddersfield
Post Qualifying Award Consolidation -
University of Huddersfield
ASYE -
University of Huddersfield
Skills
- Extensive work with victim survivors and adults who use violence
- Extensive experience in working effectively with people who are experiencing mental ill health- including escalation and risk management techniques
- Expert assessment- including parenting and risk assessment, sexually harmful behaviour assessments and Maram assessments
- Social work practice leadership
- Service plan implementation and delivery
- Team building, development and sustainability
- Person centred development and mentoring
- Child and family focused practice
- Trauma informed practice
Additional Information
Full working rights within Australia
Timeline
Senior Child Protection Practitioner
DFFH
01.2025 - Current
Service Manager
Tameside children’s services
04.2024 - 11.2024
Service Manager
Children and Families – Bradford
10.2022 - 04.2024
Team Manager
Children and Families – Bradford
03.2022 - 10.2022
Team Manager, Duty and Assessment
Halton
11.2021 - 03.2022
Children’s Rights and Advocacy and Independent Visitors Service Team Manager
Calderdale
03.2021 - 11.2021
Independent Social Worker
Self Employed Services
03.2020 - 03.2022
Practice Manager
Calderdale
11.2017 - 03.2021
Senior Social Worker
Calderdale
06.2017 - 11.2017
Specialist Practitioner
Calderdale
03.2015 - 06.2017
Social Worker
Calderdale
09.2013 - 03.2015
BA (Hons) - Social Work
Leeds Beckett University
Practice Educator Part 1 -
University of Huddersfield
Post Qualifying Award Consolidation -
University of Huddersfield
ASYE -
University of Huddersfield